The band had a cameo in the 1990 movie Back to the Future Part III playing an "old west" version of "Doubleback" along with some local musicians. (The regular version of the song plays over the credits). The music video for "Doubleback" also had clips from the movie and was included on the DVD. There were three hit singles from the album - "Doubleback" (#1 on the Album Rock Tracks for five weeks), "Concrete And Steel" (#1 on the Album Rock Tracks for four weeks) and "My Head's In Mississippi" (#1 on the Album Rock Tracks for six weeks).

Music videos were also made for "My Head's in Mississippi", "Burger Man" and "Give It Up".

In the UK, it was the band's third album to be certified by the British Phonographic Industry attaining Silver (60,000 units) in 1990. To date,[when?] this is the last studio album to achieve UK certification.

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave it 2 stars out of 5, stating: "The continuation of Eliminator's synthesized blues made sense on Afterburner, since it arrived two years after its predecessor. ZZ Top's choice to pursue that direction on Recycler is puzzling, since a full five years separate this from Afterburner. It's not just that they continue to follow this path; it's that they embalm it, creating a record that may be marginally ballsier than its predecessor, but lacking the sense of goofy fun and warped ambition that made Afterburner fascinating. [...] And the worst thing about it all, it doesn't seem like the band realizes how uncomfortably ironic the title of "Recycler" is." Erlewine did however note that "Doubleback" and especially "My Head's in Mississippi" were standouts, and "Give It Up" also got an "AMG Pick", meaning that it was another highlight.

Robert Christgau gave it a one star honorable mention, meaning "A worthy effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well like" and called "Concrete and Steel" and "Decision or Collision" as the strongest tracks.